EUGENE, Ore. - WKU senior Chioma Agwunobi capped one of the most successful seasons by a Lady Topper sprinter in program history on Thursday when she captured Honorable Mention All-American honors in the 100 and 200-meter dashes while also running a leg of the 4x100-meter relay at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore.
Agwunobi finished 18th in the 200-meter dash (23.25), 22nd in the 100-meter dash (11.54) and ran the third leg of the Lady Toppers' 4x100-meter relay that finished 19th. She was the first Lady Topper in program history to advance to the NCAA Championships in both the 100 and 200-meter dash and one of just 11 sprinters in the country to accomplish the feat this season. Agwunobi also became just the second Lady Topper sprinter in school history to garner All-American honors in a sprinting event, joining 2009 400-meter Indoor All-American Valerie Brown.
The Lady Toppers 4x100-meter relay finished 19th for the second-straight season with a clocking of 44.98 seconds. Agwunobi ran the third leg of the relay and was joined by sophomore teammates Peli Alzola, Sandra Akachukwu and Carrol Hardy. The quartet secured Honorable Mention All-America honors for their efforts. Agwunobi, Akachukwu and Hardy also ran legs of WKU's 2014 relay that finished 19th in Eugene.
With neither Agwunobi nor the 4x100-meter relay advancing to Saturday's finals, WKU's season came to an end Thursday night. The program's inaugural season in Conference USA was highlighted by the Hilltoppers' league indoor title, the Lady Toppers claiming the league outdoor championship, 21 athletes advancing to the NCAA East Preliminary Championships and nine athletes earning All-America honors during this week's NCAA Championships.
Sophomore Ventavius Sears (First Team - Long Jump) and Tomas Guerra (Second Team - Javelin) earned individual All-American honors for the Hilltoppers on Wednesday and the men's 4x100-meter relay finished 11th for Second Team All-American accolades.
WKU head coach Erik Jenkins was named the USTFCCCA Southeast Region Men's Coach of the Year for the second-straight season and tutored nine more All-Americans, upping his career total to 57 All-Americans coached in eight seasons at the helm. He was also named the 2015 Conference USA Women's Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year.
